Harold Max Mayer: 1917 - 2007

Led Mayer family business

Grandson of famed meat company's original founder learned every aspect of his trade, from top to bottom, before taking the helm and ushered its eventual sale in 1981

April 23, 2007|By Tonya Maxwell, Tribune staff reporter

When he assumed leadership of the family business, one that began as a Chicago butcher shop opened by his grandfather Oscar F. Mayer, Harold Max Mayer had spent 40 years mastering every aspect of meat processing, from cleanup to name branding to packaging the product.

"After I got my degree in hotel administration from Cornell [University], I went to work on the killing and cutting floors," Mr. Mayer told the Tribune before taking the helm as chairman in 1980. "I did every job that those operations involved, and I'm happy I did that because I gained the respect of our employees. I could do any one of those jobs today."

Mr. Mayer, 90, who helped oversee the sale of Oscar Mayer & Co. in 1981, died Friday, April 20, of cardiac arrest in his sleep, in his home in Indian Wells, Calif. He had lived in Chicago and the north suburbs most of his life and continued to keep a home in Glenview.

Mr. Mayer attended Cornell and served in the Army in World War II, attaining the rank of major, his family said. He returned to the family business -- which got its start in 1883, when Mr. Mayer's grandfather opened a neighborhood butcher shop on Sedgwick Street near Division Street -- about the time the company was undergoing some of its grandest innovations, which helped establish it as an international company.

In 1944, according to the company's Web site, Oscar Mayer & Co. launched a packaging method, known as "Kartridg-Pak," in which hot dogs were banded together and looked like cartridge belts.

The method was so successful that the company turned Kartridg-Pak into a subsidiary, for which Mr. Mayer served as president, his family said.

He also was instrumental in helping Oscar Mayer & Co. acquire and manage properties overseas -- including Prima Meats in Japan and Ven-Pak in Caracas, Venezuela -- and more familiar brands in the United States, such as Claussen Pickle Co. and Louis Rich Co.

Even as the business grew, however, the Mayers always maintained a deep commitment to their family and employees, said Mr. Mayer's son Richard.

"He was loved by everyone. The key to him was there was no difference between king and street sweeper. He loved everyone equally and was kind and generous," his son said said. "It was just his way, and it was part of the business culture."

The Mayer family always appreciated a legacy that ran in tandem with Chicago's own heritage as "hog butcher for the world," his son said.

"His father, Oscar G. Mayer, would drive to Madison, Wis., with my father, and he would stop along the way at the pig farms," he said. "His father would tip his hat because it was the pigs that allowed them to be so successful."

Mr. Mayer also is credited with inventing a spicy hot dog known as the Smokie Link, his favorite Oscar Mayer product, his family said.

The company was sold to General Foods Corp. in 1981, when Mr. Mayer was chairman of the board. In 1963, Mr. Mayer committed to two great loves. That year, he married June Sirotek, who was the mother of three children, and as an avid sportsman, he became a member of the original owners' syndicate that brought the Bulls franchise to Chicago, his family said.

"It melded his love of sports and business," said his son Robert. "That was kind of what led to the Bulls venture. I remember him saying he didn't make much money, but it was the most fun he ever had in any venture."

In addition to his wife and sons, Mr. Mayer is survived by three other sons, Harold, Bruce Sirotek and Jonathan Sirotek; a daughter, Diana Sirotek Martin; two brothers, Oscar and Allan; 18 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Friday in Glenview Community Church, 1000 Elm St.